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99942 Apophis (provisional designation 2004 MN 4) is a near-Earth asteroid and a potentially hazardous object, 450 metres (1,480 ft) by 170 metres (560 ft) in size, [3] that caused a brief period of concern in December 2004 when initial observations indicated a probability of 2.7% that it would hit Earth on Friday, April 13, 2029.
A menacing asteroid named Apophis is projected to have a close encounter with Earth in 2029, but scientists have long ruled it out as an impact risk. Asteroids safely fly by Earth all the time ...
Assuming a two-dimensional Gaussian probability distribution in the plane perpendicular to the asteroid's orbit (the B-plane), the uncertainty can be characterized by the standard deviation (sigma) the close approach point in the directions along the asteroid's orbit and perpendicular to it, where the former is usually much larger.
The asteroid's provisional designation as a minor planet, "2024 YR 4", was assigned by the Minor Planet Center when its discovery was announced on 27 December 2024. [2] The first letter, "Y", indicates that the asteroid was discovered in the second half-month of December (16 to 31 December), and "R 4" indicates that it was the 117th provisional designation to be assigned in that half-month.
In a bit of ominous news befitting a Friday the 13th: It turns out that the asteroid Apophis could have a very small chance of colliding into Earth in five years, when it is expected to make a ...
While the asteroid Apophis won’t hit Earth, two spacecraft may tag along. ... When a cruise liner-size asteroid comes within 19,883 miles (32,000 kilometers) of Earth on April 13, 2029, it won ...
The bottom of this size range, 20 m (66 ft) corresponds to the average size of an asteroid with the smallest impact energy (1 megaton) considered for impact hazard ratings on the Torino scale. [ 12 ] 20 m (66 ft) is also about the size of the Chelyabinsk meteor , which produced a meteor ending in an airburst briefly brighter than the Sun that ...
By comparison, the asteroid that ended the age of the dinosaur is estimated to be between six and nine miles wide. However, astronomers say the odds of a collision are around 1-in-83.